Monday, December 23

London

Mixed Omens – Etcetera Theatre
London

Mixed Omens – Etcetera Theatre

Mixed Omens is literally one of a kind.  Performed by narrative improv group, The Improvised Play, their previous productions have focused on the works of Tennessee Williams and Caryl Churchill.  Here, they take the works of Neil Gaiman, looking at the interface between real life and myth and the creatures that inhabit those spaces. Demons and gods (like Gaiman's interpretation of Aziraphale and Crowley) mix with humans with varying success and outcomes.  An evil father who wants to spread his darkness across the world is searching for his wayward daughter who has escaped to the human world to seek out her half-sister rather than following in his dark footsteps.  Essentially a struggle between good and evil, the show is Good Omens meets Long Lost Family, with secret sib...
The Box – The White Bear, Kennington
London

The Box – The White Bear, Kennington

Brian Coyle’s tense, intriguing exploration of a couple in a relationship crisis. Although the reason for the crisis does not become evident until later in the piece Initially the couple Tom and Kate appear to be playing games with each other assuming alternate identities. They continually compare themselves unfavourably with the relationships of other couples they know who to them seem more " normal". Coyle is fascinated by deception. In the play he claims that lying is inherent almost everything we do, in work, in relationships, and even with those we are closest to. The setting was simple with the audience on two sides of the White Bear's playing area dominated by a large box wrapped in paper. The purpose of this box is not clear, although it is obviously very important to both t...
Afrique en Cirque – Southbank Centre
London

Afrique en Cirque – Southbank Centre

"Afrique en Cirque," hailing from Guinea and making its debut in London, is a jaw-dropping riot of flexibility, tradition, and fun. With Guinean culture as a vibrant tapestry, the evening is a lively mix of thrilling circus acts, music, dance, and scenes from rural life. If you've ever thought your yoga class was tough, think again. For 90 minutes straight, the performers' flexibility and athleticism are on full display, making even the most dedicated yogis in the audience flinch at their spine-bending, gravity-defying feats. The acts flow one after another—high-flying gymnastics, balancing, juggling, and mind-boggling contortion—peppered with clowning bits and audience participation that are quickly to melt any hardened London little heart. The whole crew deserves a mention—from the...
The Wedding Singer – The Bridewell Theatre
London

The Wedding Singer – The Bridewell Theatre

The Wedding Singer is from the book by Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy revived for the musical stage by Stuart James. Its 1985 in New Jersey, it is retro and audiences will be familiar with the film version. It features the story of Robbie Joe McWilliam a wedding singer, and with his band he forms part of the ‘experience’ many couples look forward to, the happiest day of their life, their wedding. However, his own relationship is not that straight forward, his true love Linda Heather Daniel leaves him jilted at the altar. Robbie meets Julia Abbie Minnock a waitress who consoles him and supports him to get through his rejection and encourages him to overcome his struggles with love. Julia on the other hand is set to be married to Glen, Toby Chapman a hard talking Wall Street sales shark wh...
Bangers – Arcola Theatre
London

Bangers – Arcola Theatre

“A lyrical love letter to UK garage,” Bangers is a mixed bag mix tape of bright futures and crushed dreams. Under the neon glow of Laura Howard’s chilled/chilly lighting design, the Arcola Theatre is transformed into a concert venue. DJ Tanya-Loretta Dee cues up tracks under an industrial scaffold as audiences file into the space, meander across the stage’s set of club speakers, and make their way to their assigned seats. There’s a strange uneasiness to the arrangement of the space which places a playing stage not above its audience but in the arena pit of the small Hackney theatre. Very much a North London storytelling theatre, and despite its ushering staff’s best efforts the atmosphere cultivated in the room is not that of bouncer patrolled nightclub where the music is booming and th...
FANGIRLS – Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
London

FANGIRLS – Lyric Theatre Hammersmith

Welcome to the world of Boy Band mania, FANGIRLS is set within a time when girls dream about love romance and yes their pop idols. “Its journey started in 2015 when Zayn Malik leaves One Direction” and Yve Blake is inspired to capture this moment in a book describing the feelings of young girls in a crazy tumultuous time in their lives, as young teenagers. Now it is a musical premiering in London and has hit the scene with a bang.   This vibrant cast bring to life the tunes, the funny and the serious side to ‘growing up’ as young teens, idolising ‘pop icons’ peer relationships and the need to feel love, being pivotal milestones. In between the mayhem and madness is a message that ‘young people’s feelings’ should not be underestimated.     This production...
The Hot Wing King – National Theatre
London

The Hot Wing King – National Theatre

Directed by Roy Alexander Weise, Katori Hall’s Pulitzer Prize winning comedy makes its London debut in the relatively modest Dorfman Theatre. Set in Memphis, Tennessee and playing out in the interior of a particularly well-endowed suburban home expertly designed for the stage by Rajha Shakiry, this is no minimalistic kitchen sink drama. With running water coming from the taps, steam rising from the pots, and marinade dripping from big wooden stirring spoons, this is a theatrical experience with all the trimmings. Head chef and hopeful hot wing competition champion, Cordell (Kadiff Kirwan), plates up scrumptious chicken and sizzling drama in his boyfriend Dwayne’s (Simon-Anthony Rhoden) illustriously decorated middle-class kitchen. Circumnavigating the colossal counter island where Co...
ECHO (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen) – The Royal Court
London

ECHO (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen) – The Royal Court

As if a play within a play wasn’t trippy enough! In ECHO, we see dialogue being spoken as it is typed out, and witness words spoken from writing in the past. The actor of the night (Adrian Lester this time) is placed and guided around the stage, without having rehearsed or knowing what follows. The piece is a mingling of themes personal to Soleimanpour, as they often are in plays to most playwrights, but this is made overtly clear in this one. Time-travelling, distance, home, and his journey form the fabric of the play. Nassim (Soleimanpour) video calls Adrian - face projected on a large stretched screen on the stage. Even now, I can’t discern whether this was live or pre-recorded. Anyway, I shouldn’t ruin it. So, Nassim is chatting with Adrian, but then gets sidetracked (conveniently),...
The Defamation – Riverside Studios
London

The Defamation – Riverside Studios

Presented as part of the Riverside Studios Bitesize Festival, this is an intriguing piece of theatre written by Zen Tucker. Said to be inspired by the events of the Depp versus Heard defamation lawsuit in the US, it is situated in a liminal space between life and death. Five of Shakespeare's best-known female characters are obliged to spend interminable time awaiting the decision of an afterlife court as to whether they should be dispatched to heaven or hell. The setting is a library with somewhat irregular shelves and two small tables. The characters are Desdemona, Lady Macbeth, Hermione, Ophelia and Hero. For those not familiar with Shakespeare, the character sheet provides a useful summary of their roles their respective plays. The play, which is written in blank verse, involves the ...
Knives and Forks – Riverside Studios
London

Knives and Forks – Riverside Studios

In Danielle James's ambitious but uneven play, Iris and Thalia live in a flat share. Firm friends who share a life of carefree partying and fun. But Iris is hiding a catastrophic secret that will rip their world apart. Knives and Forks, directed by Annah Calascione, has a strong story at its heart, one of love and acceptance in the face of the ultimate ending. Where it becomes a little problematic is in the additional elements utilised to tell this story. Both Iris and Thalia have shadows, or 'psyches' who dress like them and express themselves through movement and words or art, added to a huge canvas backdrop. Now and again, it is a clever shorthand to highlight what is not being said. But as both an emotional device, and a practical one to tell us where we are in the non-linear...